fishermen caught a total of 2,927 shad 

 during the fishing season. In 1956 the 

 Connecticut State Board of Fisheries and 

 Game made an economic survey of the 

 fishery and found that an estimated 2,003 

 fishermen made 16,618 fishing trips and 

 caught and kept 18,823 shad from Con- 

 necticut waters. In addition, it -waLS esti- 

 mated that 7,500 were caught and released. 



In the spring of 1957 and 1958 surveys 

 were conducted by personnel of the Bureau 

 of Commercial Fisheries to determine 

 the total harvest by the sport fishery for 

 2 consecutive years. It was anticipated 

 that with these data and those collected 

 each year by the State, past and future 

 years' sport catch could be estimated. 

 These estimates could then be used in 

 studies to determine the effect of changes 

 in this fishery on the dynamics of the 

 Connecticut River shad population. 



The Connecticut State Board of Fish- 

 eries and Game made state -controlled 

 area data available. Many sport fishermen 

 cooperated to make the investigation pos - 

 sible. Conservation officers from Con- 

 necticut and Massachusetts, and boat rental 

 operators at Windsor Locks, Conn, and 

 Springfield, Mass. assisted. Water tem- 

 perature records were obtained from the 

 Hartford Light and Power Company, Hart- 

 ford, Conn, and the Holyoke Water Power 

 Company, Holyoke, Mass. 



LIFE HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION 

 OF THE RIVER AND FISHERY 



American shad are the largest mem- 

 bers of the herring family in the United 

 States. They spend most of their lives in 

 the sea, but ascend coastal rivers to 

 spawn. These migrations begin in southern 

 rivers as early as November and pro- 

 gressively later in northern rivers de- 

 pendent on latitude. Adult shad native to 

 rivers north of North Carolina normally 

 do not die after spawning, and if they 

 survive natural and fishing hazards, return 

 to spawn in successive years. The young 

 spend the first summer of life in the 

 rivers and in the fall migrate to sea. 

 In 3 to 6 years they reach sexual maturity 

 and return to their native river to spawn 

 (Talbot and Sykes 1958). 



Sport fishing for shad first developed 

 on the spawning grounds of the Salmon 



River at Leesville, Conn., located south 

 of Hartford. This continued as the major 

 shad sport fishing area until the flood 

 of 1938 washed out the dam at Leesville. 

 Since then the center of the sport has 

 shifted to the Enfield Dam area on the 

 Connecticut River at Suffield, Conn.^ At 

 present the fishery is localized in eight 

 areas from the mouth of the Farmington 

 near Windsor, Conn, to the South Hadley 

 Bridge, Holyoke, Mass., a distance of 

 approximately 30 miles (fig. 1). In addi- 

 tion to the major areas, the Scantic and 

 Salmon Rivers support limited early sea- 

 son fishing. In this study the eight major 

 areas are treated individually because 

 of variations among them in type of fish- 

 ing conducted, seasonal fishing pressure, 

 and fishing success. The fishing areas, 

 type of fishing in each area, and de- 

 scription of fishing grounds are given in 

 table 1. 



Sport fishing for shad in the Con- 

 necticut River and tributaries is charac- 

 terized by a considerable variation in 

 the lures used and in angling methods. 

 Shad are taken by trolling from boats, 

 drifting from bridges, and casting from 

 the river bank. Lead bodied feathertailed 

 jigs are usually fished from boats, small 

 metal spoons from bridges, and plain 

 hooks garnished with colored beads from 

 river banks. 



Shad enter the Connecticut River about 

 the first week in April, and the run con- 

 tinues until the middle of June. The first 

 fish are usually taken in the downriver 

 sport fishing areas by the latter part of 

 April, and first catches are made in 

 Massachusetts waters about 3 weeks later. 

 When catches are at a peak in Massa- 

 chusetts, fishing has usually ended in the 

 area below Enfield Dam. 



The legal shad sport fishing season 

 in Connecticut opens the third Saturday 

 of April and usually closes the last Sun- 

 day in June, depending on fishing success 

 at the state -controlled area. Prior to 1957 

 there was no creel limit, but at present 

 a six-fish-per-day per angler limit pre- 

 vails. Massachusetts has no restrictions 

 on sport fishing for shad. 



'Unpublished nis. Sliad fishery of the Connecticut River, 

 1944. Connecticut State Board of Fisheries and Game, Hartford, 

 Conn. 



I 



